Now, parents seek refund of Common Entrance Test registration fee

Earlier this month, CET was cancelled following a Bombay HC order. Representation pic

Now that the Common Entrance Test for First Year Junior College (FYJC) admissions has been cancelled, parents have sought a refund of the registration fee that they paid for the exam. While for state board students, their SSC registration fee of Rs 415 was diverted for CET, non-state board students had to pay Rs 178 each as the registration fee. Over 10 lakh candidates from across the state had registered for CET.

"When we demanded a refund of the SSC registration fee after the exam got cancelled, we were told that the money would be diverted for CET's registration. We agreed to it and we did not have to pay more. But now as even CET has been cancelled, shouldn't the state board refund the money?" questioned Rajesh Churi, a parent from Dahisar.

As per information provided by the state board, out of the 10 lakh registrations, about 40,000 were non-state board students. "Our money should be refunded since the exam got cancelled. The state board has not made any communication regarding the refund," said Sunita Oza, a parent from Kandivli.

When contacted, Maharashtra State Board Chairman Dinkar Patil said, "We are currently in the process of calculating the refund. For non-state board candidates, the money will be transferred to their accounts directly, as they made online payments. Though the exam was not held, the registration process was completed. We are calculating how much that cost so that it can be deducted from the total before issuing the refund."

When asked about the refund for state board students, Patil said, "The process of printing question papers and answer sheets had started long ago. Over and above this, we had to spend on teachers' workshops, training and transportation. The fees paid by candidates are used to take care of these expenses. We have to calculate the refund amounts separately for state board students."

10lakh
No. of candidates from across state who registered for CET